Friday

May 22, 2009 at 12:01 AMMay 22, 2009 at 10:22 PM

In the pantheon of movie tough guys, it’s tough to top Robert Mitchum. Whether playing a world-weary private eye in “Out of the Past,” a vengeful ex-con in “Cape Fear” or a murderous preacher in “Night of the Hunter,” Mitchum was the guy you didn’t dare mess with.

In the pantheon of movie tough guys, it’s tough to top Robert Mitchum.

Whether playing a world-weary private eye in “Out of the Past,” a vengeful ex-con in “Cape Fear” or a murderous preacher in “Night of the Hunter,” Mitchum was the guy you didn’t dare mess with.

Even after those glory days, when he had passed the big 5-0 and movies had made the switch to color, Mitchum was still the coolest guy in the room. As evidence, I offer one of his later films, the 1973 crime drama “The Friends of Eddie Coyle.”

The 1970s were a great decade for low-key, grim-and-gritty crime movies, and this one is no exception. It’s so low-key, in fact, that though there are bank robbers, Eddie — Mitchum, of course — isn’t one of them. Instead, he makes his meager living on the outskirts of Boston serving as middleman between a guy who sells guns and the criminals who use them.

Whatever glory days Eddie had (and maybe he didn’t have any), they’re far behind him, and he’s content to spend his days in low-rent restaurants and out-of-the-way coffee shops, negotiating the price of a bag of pistols.

Trouble is, he’s facing a prison stint up in New Hampshire, and — no surprise here — he’d like to get out of it. That leads to another series of negotiations with someone on the other side of the law, and it turns out the cops are willing to deal — if Eddie is willing to hand over some of his business associates.

Fittingly set during the last days of autumn, “The Friends of Eddie Coyle” is all about lives in decline. Even the bank robbers seem stuck in a rut, pulling the same hostage trick over and over. When things don’t go according to plan and one of them shoots a teller, it seems he did it as much out of boredom as to stay out of jail. (That gunshot, incidentally, is one of only two in the entire film — but I won’t spoil things by describing the other one.)

Crime films of the 1970s, whether they were big-budget epics like “The Godfather” or small-scale dramas like Dustin Hoffman’s “Straight Time,” had a restraint that modern movies lack. The director didn’t dazzle you with a cut every other second, and the special effects guys didn’t drench every scene in blood. “The Friends of Eddie Coyle” is a prime example of that style — it might be the prime example. More character study than crime story, the film is so quiet and thoughtful that its rare violent moments stand in stark relief. And at the center of it all is Mitchum, gray, rumpled and world-weary, but still the coolest guy in the room.

Eagerly awaited by film fans, “The Friends of Eddie Coyle” has finally arrived on DVD courtesy of Criterion. The disc doesn’t sport many extras — just a commentary track from Yates and a stills gallery — but it does include an excellent booklet. There’s a thoughtful appreciation of the film by writer/director Kent Jones and “The Last Celluloid Desperado,” a great vintage Rolling Stone profile of Mitchum written by Grover Lewis on the set of “Eddie Coyle.” It’s long, but well-worth reading.

Contact Will Pfeifer at wpfeifer@rrstar.com or 815-987-1244. Read his blog at blogs.e-rockford.com/movieman/. See video reviews at go.rrstar.com.